Snoring is vibration caused by a narrowed or constricted airway during sleep. Narrowing or constriction of the airway can happen for many reasons including large tonsils, nasal congestion, a long soft palate or uvula, excessive flabby tissue, and cartilage deformities in the nose or nasal structure. Snoring can also be accompanied by sleep apnea. People with sleep apnea are deprived of oxygen due to a complete blockage of the airways. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common type of sleep apnea and is caused by an obstruction, which stops the airflow in the nose and mouth. A common cause of snoring and OSA is the tongue muscle relaxing too much during sleep, blocking the airways.
OSA is characterized by repetitive complete or partial closure of the upper airway during sleep resulting in sleep fragmentation and oxygen desaturation. Numerous risk factors including male gender, obesity, ethnicity and craniofacial structure have been identified as increasing susceptibility to this disorder. OSA causes daytime sleepiness, impaired neurocognitive function, and impaired quality of life. It has been linked to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, and increased risk for motor vehicle accidents.
Therapeutic options include lifestyle changes targeted at reversible risk factors (e.g. weight loss), continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), oral devices, or surgery. CPAP pressurizes the upper airway and is applied via a nose or face mask worn during sleep. A mandibular advancement splint (MAS) is an oral device worn during sleep that protrudes the mandible. Another type of oral device is the tongue retaining device, which consists of a plastic bulb into which the tongue is placed and held out of the mouth during sleep by suction. Surgery aims to overcome or bypass regions of airway obstruction. Surgical approaches include nasal procedures, soft palate surgery, tongue base surgery, maxillofacial surgery, and tracheotomy.